


The Dark Between Stars

by Angel_of_Artemis



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, But with Harry in 6th Year, Draco Malfoy is Bad at Feelings, Draco Malfoy is a Tease, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Underage - Freeform, Underage Drinking, Vaginal Fingering, hermione sleeps with teachers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 01:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22067479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_of_Artemis/pseuds/Angel_of_Artemis
Summary: Set in Hogwarts, Harry & his crew begin their 6th year at Hogwarts (but experience ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ storyline), while the reader joins 5th year and goes on her own adventure with none other than the Slytherin Prince himself, Draco Malfoy. Some would say it's a match made in heaven, but will the two be able to break the curse in time?Oh and you are completely clueless, Slytherin have tonnes of secret Room of Requirement parties and Draco heroically saves you from the horrors of pure blood politics.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy & Reader, Draco Malfoy/Reader, Ginny Weasley/Blaise Zabini, Harry Potter/Reader, Hermione Granger/Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 23
Kudos: 144





	1. The Curious Case of the Avada-Salazars

**Author's Note:**

> Hi every1, this is my number uno attempt at a fan fic, so I apologise in advance aaha :P 
> 
> This first chapter is more of a build up & into to my fiery main character, so we're keeping it short n sweet for now x  
> I have sooOO much planned for this, so expect regular updates & chapters, and I hope it doesn't disappoint. 
> 
> Kudos & Comments always appreciated :))) HAPPY 2020
> 
> "You love me? I thought that had decided not to fall in love--that we would be forced to live a lie and that it would destroy our lives." - Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars:Attack of the Clones

Y/N Avada-Salazar awoke the morning you were meant to catch the Hogwarts Express for the first time with so much excitement, you felt your heart might burst.

Of course, joining the prestigious school as late as 5th year was unheard of, but you was determined to succeed. Dumbledore had visited personally to observe you undergo the trials he had set to ensure it would be safe, and now that you had passed nothing could get in your way.

It had been a complex process, you see, due to the fact that Y/N Elentiya Avada-Salazar was no ordinary witch. Not only were you the heir of two mighty wizard bloodlines, the French Avada who famously created the killing curse and the Salazars, relating you to one of the four founding members of Hogwarts, but magic seemed a second nature to you.

Your grandmother, Aelin Avada, claimed it was a direct result of such powerful bloodlines coming together, _(but said the girls looks were obviously from her side of the family - with the odd Veela ancestors)_ and the ‘secret’ _disgusting_ blends of broth-like meals she fed you religiously, which you only choked down out of love. And the fact her grandmother was her last living relative.

When Aelin had felt the power of your magic the first time she held you, she had immediately called on her old friend Albus for help. To this day you had now idea how or when the two became acquainted, but they both became your only companions as you were raised away from the Wizarding World.

Dumbledore advised your grandmother on what to do, how to help you, and learnt to encourage you to try new skills to keep you constantly improving. Despite your relation to the infamous dark wizard Tom Riddle with the Salazar blood, Albus had known upon meeting you that there was nothing you had in common with your relative, other than unexplained power.

To nurture you, he had arranged for private tutors, a quidditch instructor, a martial arts teacher (you loved Karate Kid from her muggle studies) and regular carefully planned outings into the wizarding and muggle communities around the world. However, as grateful as you were for the expensive education, you still felt incredibly _lonely_ by age 11, when you discovered, in fits of tears, that Albus did not think you were ready to enrol at Hogwarts. All your life you had only ever known grandmother and Albus, and you was desperate to befriend people your own age. You were jealous of the muggles you had glimpsed on outings with Dumbledore, chatting in large groups and laughing with friends, and you were not desperate enough to refer to the snakes she talked to as friends. _Yet._ They **were** just snakes after all.

So despite being able to apparate by the time you were nine, cast a patronus _(Chinese Fireball Dragon)_ by 12 and at 15 technically finished the 7th year curriculum and qualified in all but age to be a St Mungo’s healer (Dumbledore let you sit the test, interview and training sessions but made you decline the job), you would only be joining Hogwarts now, in time for your OWLs.

It was finally time.

And as you darted out of the large, beautiful but lonely mansion that had felt so much like an ornate prison for so many years, you couldn’t help but feel as if the sun where shining just for you as you finally headed to Hogwarts.

———————————————

Standing at Platform 9 and 3/4 next to your grandmother, you felt the first wave of panic hit you as you realised you had no idea what to do. All your luggage was floating around you (Aelin insisted on making you levitating it, saying the ground would damage the expensive dragon leathers), your new barn owl Balthazar hooted animatedly from your shoulder to the other owls student were lugging around in cages (you couldn’t work out why, where the other owls not tame?), and you was dressed in your favourite muggle designers - Gucci ‘dad’ trainers, your favourite denim skirt and an oversized Tommy Hilfigurer jumper.

Despite the common pureblood stereotypes, Aelin had drilled into your head from a young age that muggles were in no way inferior to wizards - after learning about Shakespeare, Rosa Parks and listening to Harry Styles music, you couldn’t help but agree.

“Y/N _ma cherie,_ ze train must depart soon. I vill post anything you may think you 'ave forgotten. For Merlin’s sake child stop looking so nervous- you are an Avada!”

You stopped biting your lip and fiddling with your skirt to look at grandmother with a sadness you knew was visible in your eyes. After so many years together you were suddenly weary to leave her despite studying at Hogwarts being such a desperate dream of yours

“With you be okay alone at the Manor grand-mere? I know you will have the elves with you, and Albus promised to visit but… who will pick the aluna berries for your arthritis? Perhaps this isn’t a good idea…”

Aelin gazed sternly at you, muttered something in French before pulling you into a stiff but well meaning hug.

“ _Darling_ , I 'ope you learn to vord your arguments better in class, otherwise ze professors vill be far from impressed. Say _salut_ to Flitwick for me. _Aller_ child, it vill not do to be tardy.”

She smoothed her immaculate robes down her figure once more and kissed you briefly on both cheeks, before making a shooing gesture in the direction of the other hordes of students already boarding the train. It was such a typical Aelin gesture you couldn't help but smile to yourself. 

The train whistle screamed loudly behind you as you took one last glance at her grandmother, missing the regret twisting her regal features as you hurried to board the Hogwarts Express.


	2. The Prophecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE Draco will make his grand appearance in the next chapter x 
> 
> Please leave Kudos & comments <3

Upon getting on the train, you hurried to find Ginny Weasley, a fellow classmate Dumbledore had assigned as a sort of penpal, a kindness you were infinitely grateful for. However, you had vastly misjudged how difficult it would be to locate the girl, as with over 400 students on the train you suddenly realised they might arrive in Hogwarts with you just as lost, and alone, as before.

After 10 minutes of searching and feeling close to screaming in frustration a multi-coloured, glossy edition of _the Quibbler_ was thrust under your nose.

“This will help the the wrakenspurts following you, and relieve the pressure you may be feeling in your ears.”

A girl with long unkempt silvery blond hair smiled brightly at you while you stood frozen, having completely forgotten how to talk or even use your mouth... you was pretty sure it was hanging open.

A **great** start to socialising.

“I’m Luna Lovegood by the way”

As a greeting Luna lowered the magazine from your face and instead held it out for you to take, which you did before snapping out of the shocked trance and going for a warm smile.

“Hi… Luna, thank you for the magazine, I hadn’t heard of …wrackenspits-“

“-Wrakenspurts” Luna interrupted helpfully.

“…before. Um, I was wondering if you might know Ginny Weasley? I’m new and was meant to find her, but I didn’t realise the was so many train compartments” you smiled sheepishly.

Luna let out a tinkling laugh as her face lit up,

“Ginny is one of my dearest friends come on, I’ll take you to her -we got one of the nice compartments near the front”

She grabbed your hand and pulled you excitedly toward the front of the train, paying little heed to other students they bumped into. You decided Luna was odd, but definitely likeable. Once you located the library at Hogwarts, you would try research these wrakenspurts, as you had certainly come across no record of them in the private, extensive collection of books at the manor.

As the two of you drew closer to Luna’s friends, you felt more and more self-conscious, a new and unexpected feeling you put down to the stares and whispers many people shot your way.

You had been expecting some stares for being new and all, but you were now beginning to realise you may have underestimated your fame a tiny bit, after watching a tiny girl squeak at the sight of you and completely miss her toad make an escape into the closest compartment. Your grandmother had always seemed bemused at the endless articles written about your family, your potential suitors, and that one Witches Weekly post arguing that you should actually be referred to as your highness. But while it had all seemed amusing to the two of you, you had never stopped to consider what others may have been thinking.

After an endless trek and almost tripping twice over different outstretched legs, you found yourself suddenly tugged into a train compartment full of people, all of whom abruptly paused their conversations to look at you.

You tried not to squirm, and instead feigned confidence, with a small smile and wave.

“Hi…I’m Y/N. I transferred this year.”

For a moment, you were worried your magic had got the better of you and frozen everyone, as no one moved. 3 boys sat with their mouths slightly agape, while one girl dropped her books and 2 others looked like a relative had died. The fourth girl, who you were sure was Ginny with an unmistakable red beacon of hair, broke the silence by jumping up and embracing you in an excited hug.

“Y/N, so glad you made it - count on Luna to find you! Come take a seat!”

Suddenly everyone was up followed Ginny’s lead, leaving you with 6 new names you was sure you had instantly forgotten and a smile on your face that was beginning to ache.

As you wedged yourself between Luna and a fellow 5th year student (Jaxon might have been his name) , you realised that everyone was already changed (except for Luna thank goodness) in robes that had a mixture of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor colours.

“Do the houses not all sit separately?” you blurted out. In Hogwarts: A History all you had read about was the legendary house rivalries, and you now worried your information gathered from the book maaaaay have been slightly out of date.

“Usually the houses make a point of being separate, especially the likes of Gryffindor and Slytherin-“

A few of the girls giggled at Jaxon’s joke.

“-But all in all, competitiveness aside, the houses get on quite well- other than during Quidditch games everyone is encouraged to get to know people outside their house. While Slytherin may think themselves above the rest of us, most houses even have students that eat at different tables”

Another girl, possibly Katrina, a Hufflepuff asian girl with gloss black hair, piped up,

“What house do you think you’ll end up in Y/N? You’ll be sorted with the first years before the feast. It's sooooo exciting to have a transfer student, Hogwarts has never had one before!”

You hesitated; obviously, you would have to end up in Slytherin, your ancestor was Salazar Slytherin himself for Merlin’s sake! But you felt this could be the wrong answer with the obvious bias against the house, and no one seemed to recognise you or realise your last name yet, so what was the harm in avoiding them knowing too much about you?

“Um, I really don’t know. The Gryffindor Quidditch team is legendary, but I’ve heard Ravenclaw have the best library and duel team…”

“And Hufflepuff have the most attractive wizards!” Jason added, creating another round of giggling from the 3 girls near the door. It was quite annoying.

“Yeah Cedric Diggory was a dream, too bad he finished his NEWTs last year…” one of the 2 annoying girls added with a sigh, while the other nodded sappily in agreement.

Luna chose this moment to slam shut her copy of the Quibbler she’d been engrossed in, and pulled you to you feet with her as she announced they were going to go change into Hogwarts robes. You dreaded that being pulled around by Luna was going to be a theme of your education.

Once returned, and reseated, the questions began anew.

“Y/N, your robes are divine - are they tailored? You can’t have got them from Diagon Alley, you _must_ tell me where’ Katrina looked at them enviously and you couldn't help blush and look away awkwardly - you’d never put that much thought into it before, but now you looked around your robes were visibly more expensive than anyone else’s.

“Oh, my grandmother is French and attended Beaubaxton, so we travelled to France to get my school supplies. I’ve never been to Diagon Alley”

You could feel herself reddening again, and didn’t know what to say when Katrina simply gawked at you. Was it uncommon to travel? You made a mental note to avoid mentioning your trips to India, Kenya and Egypt, despite how interesting your code-breaking apprenticeship had been. Thankfully, Ginny saved you,

“In that case Y/N, I’m totally taking you to the three broomsticks in Hogsmede! They don’t even ID you, and Diagon Ally have the best shops ever- we get to go once a month to Hogsmede, and the Honeydukes shop there is insane”

You genuinely smiled at that; if you had anything, it was a serious sweet-tooth, and you were a sucker for sugar quills.

“I can’t wait”

———————

Walking into the Great Hall behind all the nervously queueing 1st years made you forget how to breathe, it was magnificent, all pictures you had poured over didn’t do the building justice. _Monet could have_ you mused, forgetting for a second that everyone was looking in you direction.

Your grandmothers words echoed in your head as you stood tall and looked toward Dumbledore above the long tables swamped with students, looking more authoritative than you had ever seen him. You remembered with a sharp tinge of loss that you had both agreed it would be best to avoid highlighting your one-on-one tutoring history together, as Albus hated to seen playing favourites. You couldn’t be a prefect until 6th year anyway.

You were the last of two great bloodlines, an individual with endless galleons (you were the 3rd richest wizard worldwide according to _Wizardly News Watch_ ) and had been dreaming of this moment since you were 10.

Nothing was going to ruin it.

As the Sorting hat finished its tale of the founders and the importance of inter-house relations, professor McGonagall began reading off the names starting with ‘Jermiah, Abbott”. The screams of triumph from Gryffindor as he was sorted into the house of red and gold made your ears feel like they were bleeding.The sound had to be magically enhanced.

34 names later you felt every gaze in the hall turn to you alone at the front, stood near McGonagall, as you moved to face the crowd on the small chair as the professor read out:

“Newly enrolled student into 5th year, Y/N Elentiya Avada-Salazar”

Ah, well at least that secret was out; no need for awkward conversations about who you were, your family, your parents- every respectable wizarding family knew what had happened to the pureblood royalty, even most muggles. You felt a twinge of sadness at the prospect of loosing the friends you had made on the train because you hadn't wanted to bring up your last name, but mostly you were focused on not tripping over as you walked quickly over to the Sorting Hat. The great hall had fallen so silent you was sure no one was breathing.

The second the ancient hat touched your head, you felt a bolt of energy run through you, and your vision turned the room gold. Was the hat making you go blind? The screams and yelps of shock from other students made you realise the room itself was bathed in a golden light. Uh-Oh.

And then the hat began to speak, in a voice very different from before:

_**When Salazar’s bloodline once more return,** _

_**A new age of magic within her will burn,** _

_**Fore within these walls forgotten magics awake,** _

_**In midnight hour the curse must break.** _

__

**_Beware the call of the siren_ _’_ _s song,_ **

**_And return what was lost to the place it belong,_ **

**_For the blood feud_ _’_ _s price doth finally call,  
In a flood of flame that comes for us all. _ **

The words burned your mind like a branding iron, but it seemed that the hat had one last surprise. Before Mc Gonagall had the wisdom to remove the damned thing off your head, the hall (still bathed in a gold glow) was filled by a _10ft green-basilisk-ghost-thing_ that erupted out the hat's mouth. The candles in the great hall flickered, and several students fainted when it reared its head and hissed menacingly. 

Sadly, that was all you remembered happening before a weight was removed from your head and the room plunged into darkness. 

—————————

When you awoke, you realised three things. 

Firstly, you had definitely passed out, and probably hit the floor as your head was pounding rather spectacularly. Secondly, you were no longer in the great hall; you lay in a much smaller chamber dominated by a large crackling fireplace that Dumbledore, Professor Mc Gonagall and Snape all stood arguing by. And perhaps most importantly, they were clearly discussing you and hadn’t realised yet that you had awoken. 

“Albus, you cannot possibly believe letting the girl study here at Hogwarts is in her, or _anyones_ , best interest! On top of the dementors stationed on campus, the infamous Sirius Black probably on the way to the castle _as we speak_ for Potter AND the rumours of he-who-must-not-be-named’s approaching return, the last thing this school needs is a dangerous prophecy and an unstable, untrained witch!”

“While you raise valid points Minerva, the girl is far from untrained, I went to great lengths to oversee and orchestrate her education myself.”

“Many students are already scared of her, and the feat she pulled with the sorting hat…it's **beyond** repair.”

“We have no proof and little reason to believe any of this was Y/N’s doing. More likely, she was little more than a catalyst in another of Salazar Slytherin’s surprises for the school-“

Severus Snape's cold tone cut smoothly into the Dumbledore’s argument.

“-If I may, headmaster, little will come from the speculations of the cause of the … _incident_ , so before the girl awakes I propose we arrange for elves to bring up food and a suitable escort to take her back to the Slytherin dormitories. Cornelius Fudge will be arriving on the hour to discuss the dementor precautions for the school, which I personally view as a more pressing matter.”

Only once you heard the door close and the voices became inaudible did you lift yourself off the floor and let your tears fall. What an earth had happened to the sorting hat? And the Basilisk-ghost...thing? You couldn't help but be slightly offended by Professor Mc Gonagall's 'unstable' comment - absolutely _none_ of this was your fault! You soundlessly sat to eat your meal, a mocking reminder of the feast you missed because of something _completely_ beyond your control.

****

Sure, you’d expected some students to act weird around you because of the pureblood royalty thing, you’d been expecting _that_ but you had always hoped people with time would be able to see you was more than just good breeding and pile of galleons. Now, by the sounds of it, you’d have to deal with people avoiding you, maybe even the people you’d met on the train. You were now in Slytherin, which felt strangely like a death sentence. No amount of time would change that.

At least you’d learnt how to cast non-verbal spells 4 years ago, should any one brave enough get the bright idea to try hex you.

Deciding the day couldn’t get any worse, you rose and marched over to the oak door, determined to lock yourself in your dorm before anything else went wrong - you still hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Peeves.

Fate seemed to have other plans though, as you collided headfirst with -what felt like- the human version of a brick wall. 

But _of course_ you didn’t just bump into this stranger, as with the speed you had been hastily moving at to flee the memories of what happened in the Great Hall, you **successfully** ended up on top of them on the floor. 

Looking down at the most attractive person you had ever seen. 


	3. Enchante

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter update tomorrow my lovelies, thank you for the support <3

You hovered paralysed over him, in a trance, taking in the chiseled cheekbones, strong jawline, and perfect platinum blond hair that you felt a strange urge to run your fingers through. He looked like a _fricking_ _GOD_ , and you felt like you finally understood why muggles started those little religion-cult things. 

The loud clearing of a throat jarred you back to your senses as you realised you _not only_ were straddling him, but also had _no idea_ how long you’d been staring at him. 

For a second time that day, you wished you could disappear. 

You quickly scrambled off him like you'd been burnt before smoothing down your robes and flicking your hair back over your shoulders, anything to distract yourself from the Adonis towering over your. He had to be 6 foot _at least_. 

“I don’t do that a lot” you blurted, before your brain caught up and you felt yourself blush furiously. What were you even saying? And since when did you become a blushing, blundering fool around anyone? Good looks be damned, you were not going to keep embarrassing yourself and your bloodline. _You are and Avada-Salazar, act like it! _Aelin would have been scolding if she could see you now.__

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When he raised a quizzical eyebrow at your bizarre statement, you knew you’d rather have round 2 with the ghost-basilisk outing of your ancestry than keep fumbling through this encounter you were seemingly inept at. Aware of the growing awkward silence you tried again, offering a hand. 

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“Sorry... I’m Y/N.” It was difficult to remember how to talk as his hand, strong and warm and _huge_ , shook yours. You needed to leave before you did anything else embarrassing. Right Now.

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“Anyway... sorry for knocking you over but-I-really-need-to-go-now-so-sorry-goodbye!” You spun around and tried to look like you had the faintest idea where you were going as you hurried away from the social crime scene. He intercepted you after 3 steps, with the same bemused expression as before. It was slightly infuriating.

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“You’re going the wrong way.” He was definitely smirking now. You felt a strange urge to punch him.

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“What's it to you?"

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He sighed dramatically and gestured for you to walk with him in the opposite direction, which you did. Reluctantly. 

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“Professor Snape sent me, I’m Draco. Malfoy.”

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You gave a curt nod, refusing to look at him in fear of falling over yet again. You felt rather stupid for missing the connection between the famous hair colour and the Malfoy name, but you'd had a rather stressful day. No wonder he was acting like he regularly dealt with witches throwing themselves at him- you were sure he dealt with it often, having the fortune of both good looks and a hefty inheritance. For some reason the thought made your whole situation more annoying.

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“You made quite the entrance this morning. What spell did you use to set the Sorting Hat on fire?”

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Flummoxed, you were unsure how to respond, eyebrows knitted together as you processed what he'd said. Had he seriously suggested you'd caused the snake theatrics in the Great Hall? And- wait, had he said...

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“The _**Sorting Hat**_ caught _**fire**_?”

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He glanced sideways at you like you’d sprouted a second head. You had to seriously restrain the urge to roll your eyes- he was _**infuriating.**_ And insanely hot. A ridiculously unfair combination, really.

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“It’s **still** burning -everyone thought you caused it- when the lights came back on, both you and McGonagall had disappeared.”

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Oh Merlin. 

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He was still looking at you as you both descended deeper into the depths of Hogwarts, as if in doing so would somehow reveal the secrets he was acting like you were keeping. It was rather unnerving. You could feel yourself reddening anew - the combination of his gaze _(his eyes were like mini storms)_ and the proximity to him was too much. Would it be like this with every boy you tried to talk to? Your head simply pounded in response.

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“I didn’t do it” you eventually muttered. Draco simply raised an eyebrows again, making your blood heat in your veins. Honestly, was it so hard to believe you wanted a normal education? He didn't even know you, for Circe's sake!

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“Not even the snake?”

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“For a _start_ it was a was clearly a _Basilisk_ -“ He had the nerve to tut. 

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“-You sound like Hermione Granger.”

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“ _And secondly_ Dumbledore thinks it was another of Salazar Slytherin’s calling cards, like the chamber of Secrets. SOoo I just _happened_ to be there, like _everyone_ else.”

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You knew you were glaring at him, willing him to suggest you were lying _one more time_ , but instead he stopped outside a bare stretch of stone wall in the dungeon, and signalled for you to do the same. You suddenly missed the grand, spacious rooms of the manor you’d left behind, and you stood waiting impatiently in a cold, darkly lit corridor of the dungeons. 

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“As a 5th year prefect Professor Snape - our Head of House - has asked me to ensure you don’t _accidentally_ start anymore trouble, Miss Avada-Salazar. Slytherin will not lose to Gryffindor for a second year as a result of you costing us house points.”

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Oh, so now he decided to start acting like a prefect? You decided to ignore the way he said your name; it would not do to blush. Instead, couldn’t help but taunt him. After all, you had been positively rankled by all his accusations thus far, it was only fair.

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“Shouldn’t you have more _important_ tasks as a prefect?” you smiled angelically, crossing your arms and waiting for a response. Instead the older boy looked vaguely shocked for a moment, smirked and turned back to face the wall all within the space of a second. in all honestly, you couldn't tell if you were impressed or disappointed he had chosen not to rise to the bait.

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“Pure-blood.”

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The wall split in two as you followed Draco into the Slytherin Common Room. You had to admit, it was _divine._ Large tapestries of pure-blood ancestry and famous Slytherin witches & wizards adorned the few walls without floor to ceiling bookshelves. Chandeliers _(larger than most of the 1st year students you had seen)_ hung majestically above the plush dark green sofas students lay sprawled on, and even the fireplaces had been enchanted to flicker with green and silver flames. But the main _piece de la resistance_ was the wall of glass stretching the far side of the common-room into the murky depths of Hogwarts Lake, bathing the room in a deep green.

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You was so busy taking in your surroundings you momentarily forgot about Draco. Draco, who was still talking.

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“…it changes every fortnight, so make sure you know it beforehand otherwise you’ll be spending the night in the corridor. All students have to be back in their house common rooms by 10pm, otherwise you break curfew, loosing house points. Understood?”

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You had the feeling he knew you hadn’t been listening, but hell would have to freeze over before you willingly admitted it to him..

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“Crystal” you answered anyway with another overly brilliant smile. You couldn't work out how, but the sneaky bastard had found a way to get under your skin. You needed to make a tactical retreat, away from his curious glances and devilishly handsome smirks. Someone called his name from a cluster of sofa’s at the far end of the common room near the wall of glass, and you could feel your bed calling you. 

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After been directed to your room by some other 5th year Draco had lumped you with _(an ordinary looking girl - Xanthe, or was is Xalrilia_ _…_ _?)_ You hardly cared you got some special room that only you could enter by saying open in parcel-mouth. The girl had talked so animatedly and at a speed so fast you had been forced to use the last of your willpower not to slam the door in her face. Aelin would have been proud. 

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Alone at last, you couldn’t help but feel like you were already in over your head.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment what u thinkin my G's & hope u have / had a woNderFul dayy xoxo


	4. Monday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meets some SlytherinS & finds out more stuffs.

The next morning, you awoke, showered and filled your rucksack with the class books you needed _(somehow your lesson plan had made its way onto the desk in your room)_ with an hour to spare before you could attempt to follow any other Slytherins back to the great hall for breakfast. 

Exploring your room, you realised that it was beyond extravagant, even for Slytherin standards, and had to only be available for parcel-tongue speakers, as you’d found last night - just your relatives really, then. You doubted every dorm had an enchanted record player, an ensuite _(with what you **hoped** was a Jacuzzi)_ and a bed so large a troll would sleep comfortably. 

You certainly weren’t expecting to find a hidden doorway behind the book-case on the far end of the room, eerily lit by lanterns burning _-you guessed it-_ green flames. You wondered if Salazar had been inspired to do so by muggle films. 

Still, the last thing you needed was to end up trapped underground during your first _proper_ day of school. Yesterday, you’d decided, didn’t count. Instead, you set off to find the Owlery, casting a Four Point Spell and enchanting your diagram of Hogwarts from a history book to lead the way, all the way up the North tower. 

Balthazar hooted happily and zoomed over as you entered, slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of owls in the huge room. Your barn owl settled on your shoulder and fondly began pulling your hair with his beak. It was so familiar, you couldn’t help your eyes water as you felt an acute loss for how much had changed. And of course your hair being pulled was _slightly_ painful.

“Zar, I think it’s just going to be us against the world this year” you grumbled to what felt like your only companion, stroking his soft feathers. 

The owl chose that precise moment to soar off your shoulder and perch beside a snowy owl he seemed friendly with. You found it hard to _not_ view the act as a betrayal.

“Guess you don’t want to send a message to Aelin for me then, _mon amie_ ” you huffed, turning to face the sunrise over the lake, pulling out your wand as you conjured up the happiest memory you could think of. Your grandmother’s face flashed in your mind, brandishing your 13th birthday cake. 

_"Expecto Patronum.”_

Your silvery patronus flew into existence, towering over you and prowling the owlery restlessly. The nearest owls flew off in shock.

“Pass on this message to Aelin Avada…um hey Aelin, I arrived! Hogwarts is everything I dreamed it could be, and I couldn’t be happier here. Slytherin is the _bomb- uh_ I mean I adore the Sorting Hat's choice, and I can’t wait to begin my lessons this morning, and Quidditch trials begin next week. I miss you more than you know, and I really hope you are doing ok.”

Only once the dragon dissolved in a cloud of silver mist did you feel any guilt for lying to Aelin about how well school was going. You would not be an embarrassment to your family. You just needed time to adjust to people your own age. And to work out how to avoid the prefect Draco from yesterday.

You hoped.

———————

Upon returning to the Slytherin common room, you was beyond surprised to find two girls hurry over in your direction. You recognised the the tall girl on the left with a sleek jet black bob of hair, huge glasses and a rather large nose as Xanthe, but the girl by her side you had definitely not met before, a dainty thing with fair skin, white-blond hair past her shoulders and eyes the glowed a luminous green, like grass in springtime. In your opinion, she belonged on the front of a magazine -but you supposed pure-blood wizards and witches frowned upon that sort of thing. 

They stopped right in front of you and inclined their heads in greeting, in an oddly formal manner you hadn't observed before. Xanthe spoke first, smiling so wide she looked eerily similar to a predator showing its teeth. It was slightly terrifying.

“Morning, are you ready to head off to breakfast? This is Astoria Greenglass, another Slytherin 5th year.”

Astoria smiled softly at you as the two girls started forward to leave the common room, and you supposed it would be rude if you didn’t join them. The three of you began the climb to the great hall.

“Y/N, it’s wonderful to finally meet you. My grandmother worked alongside yours in the Wizengamont, I’ve heard so much about her.” Her voice was so melodic, it took you a second to work out what she’d said. 

“How…charming, Aelin has always spoken of her with great fondness” you smoothly replied, while your mind went into **full** panic mode as you realised _this_ was what _pure-bloods_ talked about- an art Aelin, and _all_ your private tutors had failed to teach. She'd failed to ever even mention the name _Greenglass_ for Merlin's sake!

Oblivious to your inner turmoil, the 2 girls nodded knowingly, happy to reflect on their relatives achievements. It all felt too formal, almost as if they were sounding you out. Was this truly one of the topics they enjoyed to discuss? It was as bland as learning about the Goblin War lore, and you found yourself glumly wishing for the companionship of the lively Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws you had met the day before. 

“It’s so **exciting** to have Salazar’s heir attend Hogwarts, none of the other founding fathers have a bloodline left. It’s _tragic_.” Xanthe added the last bit mournfully, and you realised the girl was upset about the loss of a pure-blood house, not actual lives. You nodded sympathetically, following Astoria’s example. At least she seemed to genuinely mean what she was saying, and they'd progressed on from discussing family members. You decided these girls would probably be safe to voice your concerns, as neither Dumbledore nor Aelin were around, and you certainly didn't plan on revealing your questions to Draco. He'd probably just accuse you of burning that old hat again anyway. 

“You don’t think people will - I don’t know…be nervous around me? I mean, after yesterday…” 

The two girls giggled.

“Other than the odd dimwits in younger years, everyone wants to _be_ you. You are a _celebrity_ , Y/N, even more well-known worldwide than Potter!” Astoria proclaimed airily, Xanthe nodding furiously in agreement. 

You didn’t really believe the pair until you entered the great hall, and a first year shakily asked for your auto-graph, while whispers followed the trio all the way to their seats at the Slytherin table. You caught the words _Balisk, Avada-Salazar_ and what sounded like assassin, but you weren't sure about the last one

To your dismay, you spied Draco sitting a few seat down with seniors, and prayed you didn’t have to interact with him that morning. You couldn’t deal with embarrassing yourself in front of the school _again_ , and he made your mind feel like goop.

Xanthe’s cheerful voice snapped you out of your misery, while the girl eagerly stacked croissants onto her plate. Perhaps before she'd simply seemed less open and friendly because of the early hour and lack of food, as now Xanthe's friendly behaviour was almost off-putting.

“So, what subjects are you doing? Astoria and I like to spend our free’s in the library, you could totally join us.”

“ Uh, I’m doing everything but Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and Astrology, I completed the NEWTS’s for them last year. I don't have many free periods, but I would love to see the library” you told the girls sheepishly, tucking your hair behind your ear.

The two girls looked at you like you’d told them you were a squib. Astoria was the first to snap out of her daze.

“You did 4 NEWTS’s two years _early_? I’ve never heard of anyone do that! Did you have to get permission from the Ministry-“

“ _You_ did _Muggle Studies_?” A senior girl to your left sneered as she interrupted the conversation. She was rather pug-faced with sharp, beady eyes, with a head full of dark brown lanky waves that hung down to her collarbones. 

“Real Slytherin’s don’t **do** _muggle studies_. Are you a secret muggle _-lover_ or something?”

An equally unappealing girl sniggered beside the rude Slytherin. Her tone made your blood boil.

“Actually,” you began with an icy tone and colder gaze, “Ignorance in such affairs is a rather toxic pure-blood stereotype much of wizarding society is calling to reform.” You lowered her voice speaking in a scandalous tone “Oh my, was your family excommunicated from the Pureblood community? It would explain such a backwards opinion on the matter…”

You couldn’t help but smirk as the girl spluttered in outrage and turned a deep shade of red. Astoria and Xanthe looked like Christmas had come early. 

“How **dare** you!- I am a **Parkinson** , do you know _nothing_ -“

Draco’s voice from somewhere down the table interrupted cooly. 

“Pansy, we're leaving. Are you coming or do you did you want to keep looking like a complete and utter moron?”

She gaped her mouth open and closed twice before shooting a venomous look at you and dashing off with her troll of a friend after Draco. 

Xanthe and Astoria stared at you with disbelief written plainly on their features. 

“That was Pansy _Parkinson_ , her dad's the Department Head of Magical Transportations in the ministry, and she's a 6th year prefect. Do you have a _death wish_ ?” Xanthe whispered seriously. 

You stood and smiled breezy at them, trying to convince the two girls and yourself it really wasn't a big deal. If you knew anything about Slytherin, you knew you needed to establish your rank in the house, and if power was the only thing they respected you were not opposed to showing yours.

“No, I’ve got Arithmancy. See you at lunch?”

The two girls nodded slowly as you swept out of the Great Hall. 

Perhaps you could do this after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment any feedback, and stay tuned for the next chapter tomorrow!
> 
> More Draco soon I promise, & its a sTeaMy slowburn x


	5. Confessions of a Slytherin

Your week flew by, and you were glad to finally reach the library Xanthe had suggested the trio meet after their final lessons on the Friday. You’d had hardly any lessons with the two girls that day _(they’d worked out the only lessons you all shared were core subjects, like Transfiguration)_ , and you’d been surprised to find in every lesson students sat and worked in their houses. Luna had waved cheerfully at you in Ancient Runes, and Ginny offered a smile, but it felt like there was some invisible line you weren’t expected to cross. And as much as Xanthe and Astoria were growing on you _(they’d at least stopped treating you like some Slytherin-chosen-one)_ , you couldn’t help but miss Ginny’s sharp wit, and even Luna’s bizarre tips. 

All the way at the far end of the library, near a sign that read ‘Restricted”, you found your new friends on a table over looking the quidditch pitches. 

“Y/N ! Is it true Flitwick’s invited you to try out as the Slytherin Duelling Captain?” Xanthe whispered as you pulled out your Arithmancy essay. You looked at her and raised an eyebrow. 

“Yes, he mentioned it…why, is it a big deal?”

Astoria looked up from her Astronomy studies with slightly wide eyes.

“Duelling club is the second biggest school competition after Quidditch! Inter-house duels are arranged, with a _tonne_ of spectators, and each house trains a team. It's extremely dangerous, last year Dean Thomas ended up in the infirmary for a **month** , and he was _just_ a spectator. Only 3 people from each house get the opportunity to try out for captain, why do you think he chose you? It's only ever been 6th or 7th year students selected before!’

“Erm, I’m not too sure…” you tried to feign modesty _(you’d found some students reacted badly to your advanced knowledge & abilities when you'd been eager to impress teachers at the beginning of the week),_ but Astoria shot you a knowing look.

“You’re awful at lying, Y/N.” 

Xanthe clapped her hands gleefully when you visibly sighed in defeat - causing the Librarian Madame Pince to come over and scold you all for the noise. 

“Well…you can’t go round telling everyone this, but Professor Flitwick is an old friend of my grandmother, so he’s well aware of my... duelling abilities. He visited the manor a few times while I was being privately educated. I don’t want people to think I’ve got in just because of my family, though” You chewed your lip nervously.

“Nothing is _wrong_ with having connections-“ Astoria began announcing rather loudly, only to be shushed by Xanthe.

“What abilities _do_ you have, other than being a secret swot. Honestly, given free rein I think you’d be worse than Hermione Granger- you’re lucky you have us.” Xanthe finished with her signature devilish grin.

“You're the second person to compare me to her this week. She's the bushy haired girl that hangs out with Harry Potter, isn't she? And you’ll find out with everyone on Monday, during the trials” you grumbled, Draco’s face flashing in your mind.

“Well at least you look _slightly_ better than her - you’ve got quite a few admirers, you know... come on you _must_ have noticed!” Astoria’s eyes glowed with wicked delight as a blushed stained your cheeks. At least the conversation had moved on from your magic. 

You studiously ignored Astoria as you focused on your essay. 

“ _Half_ the girls think you use illegal love potions with the way some guys have been drooling over you, and have been to that spa in the _Philippines_ with the specialist beauty treatments wizards use there” Xanthe whispered. 

You scoffed, but didn’t stop writing.

“That’s absurd. Everyone knows the Avada bloodline had like, 3 **Veela** mixed in during the early 18th century. And I’d need more than a _love potion_ to successfully talk to boys.” Memories of your embarrassment with Draco made your blush deepen. You refused to look up. 

“Y/N are you having _boy trouble_?” Astoria asked with glee. 

Xanthe squealed excitedly & span around in her chair as you groaned & buried your face in your hands. Madame Pince marched over angrily once more to give another 5 minute lecture. After she left, the girls gave up all pretence of studying and scooted over to your side of the table. 

“Y/N…” Astoria sang. “Who is it?”

“We are like, _boy experts._ ” Xanthe whispered. “Astoria’s had like, 4 boyfriends, and I have 6 brothers, so I can _basically_ read their minds.”

You were torn. On the one hand, your crush on the senior had been haunting you all week- so much so that you’d distractedly walked into an embarrassing number of walls between lessons. Even sitting at the Slytherin table during meals made you self-conscious. Maybe telling someone would help. On the other hand, you felt shy about admitting your feelings; it was an odd sort of vulnerability you hadn’t experienced before. And you could quite clearly remember how utterly infuriating he had been with his teasing, so you weren't _entirely _sure if you wanted to get to know him or slap him. You were rather new to the whole scene.__

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But you wanted to trust Astoria and Xanthe. Taking a deep breath and steeling your nerves you removed your hands from your face and whispered:

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“Draco.”

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“ _ **What?!**_ ” Xanthe looked ready to fall off her chair.

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“You have a crush on Draco _Malfoy_?” 

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“The whole _library_ doesn’t need to know!” you hissed, glancing around the library in horror. Thankfully, you couldn’t see anyone nearby. It was odd hearing his surname for the first time though, it was strangely familiar. _But where had you heard Malfoy before... ___

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“But Y/N, he’s so…he’s got that whole _ice-prince-vibe_ going you know? And besides, Pansy-“ Astoria discreetly elbowed her in the ribs, smoothly interrupting.

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“Pansy _wants to_ get her claws into Draco, but you could totally get in there, honey. After like, 5th year she basically threatened other girls to stay away from him…Elain Fyderkliff transferred to Ilvermorny because of her…but if _anyone_ can put Pansy in her place, it’s you! Besides, ice melts, and you’re hot as _hellfire_.” Astoria gave a winning smile. 

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“Have you talked to him yet?”

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You winced. 

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“Uh, well, after the sorting hat incident Snape arranged for him to - ah - make sure nothing else bad happened to me, and help me find the Slytherin dormitories…” 

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‘Like some kind of hunky _bodyguard_?!” Xanthe whisper-exclaimed. Astoria rolled her eyes. 

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“ _ **No**_ you dimwit, Malfoy’s a prefect remember?”

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“But I didn’t _know_ that when I met him and I kind of…well… I knocked him over-and-ended-up-on-top-of-him-and-stared-at-him-for-Merlin-knows-how-long.” you cringed at having to say it out loud. 

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“Holy Hippogriffs that sounds _steamy_ ” Xanthe giggled. 

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“When you were on top of him, were you like, _straddling_ him?” Astoria asked with a grin.

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“W-well- I…” you stuttered. Astoria suddenly stood up, walked over to Xanthe and straddled her on the chair, looking at you with a teasing grin. 

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“Like this, yeah?” 

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You nodded, looking slightly scandalised and unable to speak.

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“Could you feel if he had a _boner_?” Xanthe whispered through a new bout of giggles. Even Astoria snorted, still on top of Xanthe. You were _mortified_.

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" _What?!_ I wasn’t _\- why_ would I have- _have even been_ **thinking** _about that!_ _”_ you spluttered, prompting the two girls to laugh even harder. You couldn’t help but join in. You felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, for the first time that week. 

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And then you heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind you. 

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\------

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“Malfoy- Hi!” Xanthe squeaked as Astoria quickly detangled herself with such dignity you suddenly remembered you were all pure-blood heirs to mountains of galleons, etiquette drilled into your minds from a young age. You tried not to look like you were having a heart-attack.

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“Sorry to…interrupt." He began, looking pointedly at Astoria and Xanthe with a smirk. They smiled back, unabashed.

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“Snape has requested Miss Avada-Salazar’s presence in his office. I’m here to escort you there now.” He directed the last part at you, and the combination of _the way_ he said _your name_ and intensity of his gaze made your spine tingle pleasantly. Still, he'd annoyed you so much last time you refused to act like the simpering girls you'd seen following him around in-between classes.

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You realised half a second later you were supposed to reply. 

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“I just need a second to pack up my... belongings” you bit your lip - who even said _belongings_ anymore? You sounded like Madame Pince. Ignoring your mental shrieking at the slip up you raised your head and tried to look as collected as he was. He seemed to find your attempt amusing enough for a ghost of a smirk to flicker across his face, reigniting the annoyance in your chest from your previous encounter.

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“I’ll be waiting at the entrance of the library. Remember this is a **public** library, ladies” he added drily _(was he staring at your mouth?)_ before striding off. You jumped up and began stuffing things haphazardly into your bag, determined not to keep him waiting so he couldn't use it against you later. You would _not _let him get the upper hand.__

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“Ok Y/N, this is totally your moment!” Xanthe proclaimed in an excited whisper, oblivious to your rather vexed state. 

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“Remember to breathe - just be your _normal_ self-“

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“-Well, maybe don’t try _straddle_ him again, unless of course, he _asks_ you to-“

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“-And try not to talk about Pansy, that’s a total mood-killer-“

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“And make sure when you arrive at Snape’s office to thank him and like, run your hand over his _bicep_ or something _sexy_ , it drives them **crazy** , trust me…”

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You finally wrestled your rucksack on, smoothed your robes, and cast a quick spell to arrange your hair less erratically. Your heart was pounding so loud you were surprised Madame Pince hadn’t appeared. 

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“Ok,” you breathed, steeling yourself, “Meet you guys in the common room after?”

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“We’ll be on the sofas closest to the lake. We want to hear _everything_.” Astoria pleaded, while Xanthe waggled her eyebrows suggestively. 

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You laughed one last time before setting off to find Draco. 

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?
> 
> Kudos & comments always appreciated <3 
> 
> Warning- Smut in the next chapter!


	6. Hidden truths of Hogwarts

You found Draco talking to Pansy at the entrance. _Where had she even come from?_ You’d managed to successfully avoid Parkinson since your run in on Monday easily enough, but it seemed your luck had come to an end. You slowly came to a stop in front of the pair and waited for them to notice you, trying not to fidget. During lunch Xanthe had claimed Pansy was like a shark and could smell fear, which had only increased your anxiety of crossing paths with the 6th year once more. You were pretty sure there was no magic or a spell simple enough for Parkinson to do that, but you were still wary. 

“But _Draco_ , you said you would this year. We’d get to spend so much more _time_ together…” Pansy whined pathetically in ear-shot. You didn’t know how he put up with it. 

“Enough, Pansy. I said I'd consider it, but between prefect duties and the quidditch team, even my father thinks leading the duelling team is too much. I’ve already declined Flitwick.” Draco replied tersely, sounding bored. 

“Well, I guess it would be unfair if you were captain of _both_ the Slytherin Quidditch and Duelling teams” Pansy huffed, blinking so rapidly for so long you realised she was trying to flutter her eyelashes. It was grotesque to watch but a small part of you worked out, with glee, that this was Pansy _flirting_. Even with your lack of experience, it was comical to watch. 

“No one knows who the 3rd Slytherin candidate is. Obviously Zabini was chosen to replace you, but I can’t find out - _What are you doing here_?” Pansy’s hands twitched as she dropped her simpering acting instantaneously. In return you smiled brightly, deciding to play up your angelic appearance with the hope of pissing her off. 

“Sorry, was I interrupting something?” you replied sweetly, dismissing her entirely. 

Pansy looked like she wanted to give you a piece of her mind, but Draco managed to answer quicker. 

“Not at all, Y/N.” Pansy looked shocked as he moved to stand beside you, while you tried very, very hard not to inhale his cologne _(like sandalwood and burnt spices- **intoxicating** ) _too obviously - standing so close to him was making you break out in goose bumps. As you set off together toward the dungeon, you couldn’t help call out triumphantly to Pansy. 

“It sounds like I’ll be against you on Monday for the trials! I’ve never been a member of a duelling club before - its so _exciting_ ” you grinned as you spied Pansy’s eyes bulge in horror before you turned a corner with Draco. Even he looked _mildly_ impressed. 

“You were Flitwick’s first choice Slytherin Captain?”

“First choice?” You echoed in confusion _\- how could any one work that out?_ Almost as if he read your mind, Draco responded.

“Every year in the first week of term, Flitwick asks each of the three potential students for the four captaining roles once on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It’s a system only Slytherin has worked out” he added with a grin, looking so handsome you almost tripped down the stairs.

“Since I was asked Thursday, and Pansy was on Friday, everyone has been trying to work out the first candidate picked…although Pansy is probably announcing the news in the common room as we speak. I guess a prophesy alone wasn’t enough for you this week…” he smirked. You rolled your eyes in mock outrage. 

“Wow _Malfoy._ What can I say, Hogwarts _loves_ me.”

“On the contrary; You **set fire** to the _sorting hat.”_

_“_ I _told_ you, I wasn’t _responsible_ for that!’ you fumed, before spying the grin on his face as you realised he’d been winding you up on purpose. Frustratingly, he still looked otherworldly handsome, and you were struggling not to stare. You needed to change the subject. 

“So, did Snape say why he summoned me?”

“No, though I assume it’s to do with what happened in the great hall, to ensure nothing else abnormal has occurred this week. Other than walking into walls, you seemed fine.” You felt your face flame red. 

“Wha- have you been _stalking_ **me**? Thats- I don’t _usually_ walk into walls I-I’ve just been _distracted.._.” You managed to stammered out. Merlin, this was embarrassing; why hadn’t they reached Snape’s classroom yet? Draco’s ears went slightly pink, and you wondered if he was blushing at your accusation. _But why would he?_

“As I mentioned when we met, Snape insisted I ensured you didn’t get into any more trouble, that’s what this arrangement is” he concluded firmly, making you wondered if this was the colder version of Draco Xanthe had referred to in the library. 

Descending the final set of steps of the dungeons in silence, you could hardly see where you were going as you hurried to keep up with Draco a few steps ahead. Consequently, you really shouldn’t have been surprised when you tripped. At the realisation you were falling, you didn’t even have time to scream, and squeezed your eyes shut as you braced for the impact. 

Instead, you were caught by a pair of hands. 

When you finally opened your eyes once more, you found yourself standing directly in front of Draco, who was looking at you with an expression you couldn’t fathom _(it was also super dark, so you couldn’t really see much anyway)_. His hands lingered, now on your waist, and you were standing _really_ close. Your body was tingling in the places it brushed his. 

“Thanks" you breathed, too scared to move and ruin the moment. You were suddenly glad you’d been inhaling mints with Astoria and Xanthe while you’d sat in the library. 

“Anytime” he replied, in a voice so low you barely heard him. You realised with a jolt that his face was now closer - so close you could see your faint reflection in his eyes, could tell he was staring, transfixed at your lips. _Was he going to kiss you?_

“Draco?” You whispered, as his eyes snapped up to yours and he lightly tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. You were hardly breathing - your body felt like it was on fire, but you wanted to _burn_.

His face was even closer now; his lips were a breath away from yours and-

And the Potions door was loudly creaking open. The pair of you sprang apart, and you felt strangely guilty as Snape gave both of you a long appraising look. Draco’s face had reverted to emotionless, nodding in greeting to the Head of Slytherin House. 

“Draco, thank you for bringing Miss Avada-Salazar down here, that will be all. Y/N, if you would like to follow me.” Snape swept back into the classroom. You glanced back at Draco, who seemed to hesitate momentarily before silently leaving down the dark corridor. It was weird that he didn't even say goodbye, but maybe he had found the moment you had both just shared as baffling as you found it. 

You felt like your last few brain cells were screaming at you to go after him, but instead you reluctantly followed your professor into the potions classroom. 

———————

The following hour dragged painfully slow as you sat through Snape’s endless questions about your week, what the prophecy could be referring to, and the long monotonous speech he launched into about Hogwarts doing its utmost to _‘ensure your safety’_ and for _‘precautions to be put in place’_. You didn’t have the heart to say that it all seemed like complete overkill. If the dementors could keep away a psycho like Sirius Black, you felt they more than likely good enough protection for your too. 

The only part you _really_ paid attention to was Snape’s mention that Draco would be co-ordinating after school study sessions to limit the amount of time you was alone and _‘most vulnerable.’_ You doubted Draco had already agreed to it. Pansy was going to hex you, and probably bury you under the Quidditch pitches when she found out. 

When you were finally dismissed you raced out the classroom, keen to get back to the warmth of the Slytherin common room and company of Xanthe and Astoria. However, when you reached the bottom of the stairs you realised with a groan you’d left your rucksack at the foot of Snape’s desk. 

You’d just retrieved the bag when you heard footsteps approaching from just outside the classroom. Panicking that Snape would assume you were snooping, you grabbed your wand as you cast a non-verbal _Quietus_ and _Disollusiona,_ allowing you to creep toward the door, and your freedom, while your sounds were muffled and both yourself and your rucksack blended ( _like a chameleon)_ in to the surroundings behind you. Sadly, it only worked if you remained still. 

You froze by the first row of desks from the front when the figure entered the classroom, pulling out a wand and casting a _Colloportus_ , much to your dismay and confusion. The door locked as the stranger removed her hood, and you almost gasped aloud when you realised it was none other than _Hermione Granger_. 

The older girl strode purposefully into the room, coming so close to you her robes were _millimetres_ away from brushing your own, when she stopped less than a metre away from your invisible form and seated herself where you had been sat less than 5 minutes ago. 

Hermione checked her watch, and you really hoped this meeting didn’t take long -your nose was beginning to itch. You'd never seen the bookish, curly haired girl away from her two permanent companions. 

As if on que, Snape materialised from his quarters and almost cautiously approached his desk, sitting slowly down onto his teaching chair. 

“Miss Granger its rather late, I hope this is important.”

“It is Professor, thank you for agreeing to see me. I’m sure I can make it worth your time” she replied breathlessly. You were so close you could see Snape’s eyes dilate slightly. 

“What appears to be the problem, Miss Granger?” He questioned as he rounded the desk to the front, leaning back to rest against it in an oddly casual gesture. 

“So _formal_ tonight, Severus” Hermione all but purred, giving him a crooked smile while she uncrossed her legs and let the cloak fall open slightly. You couldn’t see what she was wearing underneath from this angle, but Snape seemed unable to look away.

A flicker of conflict flashed across Snape’s features before he schooled them back into his neutral, cold teaching mask and slowly replied,

“Herm- _Miss Granger_ , last year was a ... _lapse_ in my judgement. It would be unwise to continue such high-risk _activities_ when so much is at stake.”

You had no idea what exactly was going on, and only knew you had no choice but to remain frozen or be discovered. This was _not_ the Hermione Granger you’d read about in news articles and spotted on the odd occasion roaming the corridors with Ron and Harry Potter.

“But _professor_ ” Hermione whined almost childishly, making Snape’s hands tighten imperceptibly on the desk.

“Haven’t you missed me?” she questioned innocently, as she began to untie her cloak. 

Snape seemed frozen to the spot. 

“Aren’t you lonely down here all by yourself, _professor_?” She said his title slowly, as she rose from the chair, letting her Gryffindor cloak pool on the floor at her feet. 

Beneath them, Hermione Granger was _totally_ naked. You found yourself horrified at the event you were witnessing unveil but felt totally powerless to stop it or even look away. You were stood so close to Hermione you could see _(with too much clarity)_ Hermione’s small peaked breasts bounce softly as the girl turned around, and how bare her cunt was, the lips glistening with wetness as the girl turned away from Snape to _slowly_ bend over pick up her cloak. Snape watched transfixed, and flexed his jaw, as he watched her spread it out over the front desk _right in front of you_.

“I just need the answers to our next test, sir. That’s _all_ ” she promised as she made her way back over to him, her pale skin gleaming in the soft lighting. She stopped just in front of him before climbing onto his lap, straddling him. You heard his soft groan, barley audible.

“It could be our little _secret_ ” she whispered seductively in his ear, pressing her body into his as she gently began to grind against him. Snape did nothing as she guided one of his hands to her breast, but moaned throatily when he began to kneed it, as his other hand slowly moved to grip her arse. She seemed to have broken his resolve. You were stuck watching in horror as your greasy-haired professor began thrusting fully clothed against the writhing, totally naked body of the Brightest Witch of her Age.

“You’re a _dirty_ little student aren’t you Miss Granger? Begging for your professor’s cock” His cold voice crowed, as he forced her to rub her core along his length faster through his clothes. Both his hands kneeling her ass now, controlling it with such force you could already see red handprints forming. 

“ _Please_ professor’ she begged sucking the skin beneath his earlobe as Snape was now moving beneath her, trying to get even more friction between them.

“On your knees” Snape suddenly demanded, winding her bushy hair around his hand to make Hermione obediently do as she was told at the foot of the desk, while Snape moved aside his robes, unzipped his fly and made fast work of getting his trousers and underwear halfway down his pale thighs. 

You had never so much as _kissed_ a boy, let alone seen a _dick_ before in your 15 years of experience. Hermione slowly began tracing her tongue around the large, glistening purple head of Snape’s cock, carefully licking off the strange white liquid you could see gathering at the tip. She groaned wantonly, before beginning to bob her head along the length of it, taking more and more of it each time, carefully building up a rhythm. Snape watched greedily through half-lidded eyes, offering soft words of encouragement and moaning so loudly you knew you'd never be able to look at him the same way.

It had to be at least 7 inches, some part of your brain that _wasn’t_ paralysed with shock decided. Maybe 8.You hadn’t expected so many _veins, for it to be so red and angry looking,_ or for Hermione to be able to fit so much of it down her throat. The wet sounds echoing in the room seemed to _spur_ her on. 

Snape had now taken control, using his grip on Hermione’s hair to begin to roughly throat-fuck her in earnest. As he thrust into her mouth forcefully, he clearly enjoyed watching his cock slid in and out with a look of cold satisfaction. The girl didn’t seem to have a gag reflex and started softly caressing his balls, making Snape’s grip on her tighten once more. 

He came with a shout less than a minute later and he clamped her head in place, forcing her to swallow all the white fluid you'd seen earlier his dick was pumping into her mouth. Some of it dribbled down her chin. When he finished, Hermione gradually let his dick slid out her mouth, licking it clean and letting it fall, limp and glistening, out of her mouth, as he disentangled his fingers from her hair. 

“The paper?” She immediately asked innocently, while she remained on her knees. Snape muttered an _Accio,_ and a single booklet came zooming around the corner from his private quarters, and settled on his desk. Satisfied, Hermione got up and quickly looked through it; Snape’s eyes following her naked form hungrily. You were starting to feel rather nauseous. 

As Snape tucked his dick back in his pants and Hermione _finally_ put her robe back on, you tried not to mentally panic too loud as you really, _really_ , hoped Hermione was ready to leave now.

“Thank you, Professor” she called softly, with the paper firmly in her grasp as she sashayed to the back of the classroom and out the door still barring your freedom. Snape seemed back to his cold self as he gave a sharp nod before retreating to his chambers, at long last leaving you alone.

You only allowed yourself to move after counting to 50, feeling dazed as you slowly navigated yourself out of the classroom, towards sanity and Slytherin.

Xanthe and Astoria were going to have a field day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was the right kinda steamy for you all! Sorry I took a break, exams are really stressful right now. 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments, I'd love to hear what you think and it really encourages me to get chapters out quicker!! xoxoxo


	7. The Elites (definitely not a cult)

Having miraculously navigated yourself back to the Slytherin common room _(really, you were rather proud of yourself)_ you were shocked to find the room packed with students. Then again, it was a Friday evening, so you supposed this sort of mingling was the _social_ kind of thing students did. You were more in the mood for curling up by the fire in your room and banishing the last half hour of your memory away with a good book, but Xanthe had spotted you and it seemed she had other ideas.

As the tall girl greeted you with a familiar toothy grin _(it was becoming less terrifying the more she did it)_ and bear hug, you decided that you could probably put up with up to an hour of chatting to random people before _Mission-Impossible-ing_ yourself out the common room.

You immediately wanted to change your mind after Xanthe finished leading you through the common room to a secluded corner behind a bookshelf, the small space solely lit by the green glow of the lake in front of you. On the two plush sofas a small group of Slytherins were chatting idly - amongst which you spotted a familiar shock of pale blond hair.

“Y/N, you finally made it! Where have you _been_? You missed a super intense fight between two like, slug-monsters in the lake” Astoria announced as she gracefully swooped in from behind you, taking your hands in hers in greeting.

“Well _actually_ , I think they were more like giant crabs – I _totally_ saw pincers, Astoria” Xanthe pouted, giving you the impression they had both run through this topic before. 

“Uh, guys?” You interjected, eager to change the topic “Who are these people? Why are we here, are they even in our year?” You didn’t recognise them from any of the lessons you had attended that week- _but then again_ you had been extemely preoccupied with learning that no-one liked a know-it-all, you had to put your hand up in class before talking, and that you had to ask before leaving to use the lavatory. It had been a steep learning curve. 

“So, we are the _only_ 5th year Slytherins here, the rest are 6th years, but we all hang out together because of like, social standing in Wizarding society and stuff’ Xanthe quietly explained to you, suddenly seeming quite serious. It looked like you had been _completely_ wrong to think you understood the whole Pureblood-society-structure-thing. 

“Our group gets nicknamed the _‘Elite’s’_ around school, as the whole concept is kind of elitist, but it actually works pretty well- and it’s not like we really chose it. We get invited to _all_ the parties, and Theodore over there has like 7 properties we all visit at different times in the school year” Astoria gleefully told you, jerking her head in the direction of a muscular, tanned student sitting at the end of the other couch, his head of brown curls buried in a book.

“He seems …outgoing” you hesitantly offered, watching him turn a page and continue to studiously ignore the group of people around him.

“Oh, Theodore is _great_ ” Astoria gushed, “he’s so smart, and he’s offered to help me with my Charms work this year – I can’t afford to set Flitwick’s moustache on fire again... and he’s a _Nott_ after all, his father is super high up in the Ministry of magic, so being good at magic is like, in his blood!”

“Are you sure that _all_ you want him to do is tutor you, Astoria?” Xanthe teased, making her hiss at the two of you giggling to _be quiet._

“So everyone here is part of the Elites?” You questioned, trying to wrap your head around the concept once you could breathe again. 

“Are there Elites in every house?”

It would be nice if Ginny and Luna were a part of this - in her letters Ginny had mentioned her father was head of a department in the Ministry. Surely that would be enough to qualify her for…whatever this was?

Both Astoria and Xanthe glanced at each other uneasily. 

“Well… its always been more of a Slytherin tradition - the other houses don’t really _mix_ with us, even outside of lessons” Xanthe explained hesitantly. 

“Xanthe, you’re _totally_ forgetting about interhouse parties! We all get so drunk no one even remembers what house _they_ belong to, let alone what house the person pouring firewhiskey _for them_ is from” Astoria added with a grin.

“Now come _on_ Y/N, it’s time to introduce you to everyone.”

She swiftly manoeuvred you right to the front of both sofas, making conversations quickly die out with even Theodore looking up from his book. Astoria confidently took you hand, as you tried to look at anyone but Draco and the scowling face beside him you quickly realised was Pansy. _Of-fucking-course she’d be a member of the Elites_. Fantastic.

“Everyone, this is Y/N Avada-Salazar, as I am sure you **all** know - our newest member” Astoria announced grandly, as a chorus of greeting echoed around you. Theodore shut his book as Astoria took a seat beside him and you and Xanthe joined the end of the opposite couch. 

“ _Enchante_ _”_ you offered a half-second later, feeling the many pairs of eyes burning into your skin. 

“She hasn’t done the initiation process - she is **not** a member” Pansy scoffed. 

“She’s a _legacy_ \- her ancestor is Salazar Slytherin _himself,_ for Merlin’s sake, so why an earth would the initiation be relevant! Honestly, I”- Xanthe began arguing indignantly _(first arguing about sea slugs and now this; what was **up** with her?) _before you interjected.

“It’s fine, Xanthe - I’d be happy to do this initiation, if it prevents further dispute” you offered as politely as you could, certain Pansy would otherwise target you in the group if you joined by default. One of the boys leaned forward, thoroughly amused, while Pansy sat visibly horrified at your lack of ouward panic. You were too nervous to look at Draco.

“The initiation process isn’t long- we could do it now if you like, MIss Avada-Salazar?” 

The boy reminded you of the Egyptian princes you’d seen pictures of in Muggle Studies lessons, with his ebony skin, dark hair and angluar face. 

“Uh… sure” you replied, shooting a nervous glance at Astoria as she seemed to twig on that you had _no-freaking-clue_ what the initiation even was.

“It’s ah…it’s similar to the house sorting hat, but you’ll pass out while we find out stuff about you… it also burns a tattoo into your skin of the crest, in a colour that best represents your personality. It’s tradition, everyone had to do it” she added apoligetically, right when Zabini returned _(when had he even left the room)_ with a golbet full of what looked like conjealed blood, but _green_. 

“If the magic rejects you, it becomes a brand no wizard can glamour” Pansy added nastily, making your stomach roll uneasily. Was joining some group of people really worth being potentially permanently disfigured? You’d _never_ get a boyfriend at this rate.

“Is this what you want, Y/N?” a familiar deep voice inquired, as you realised Draco was talking. To _you_. 

He genuinely looked vaguely concerned, but you couldn’t tell if it was for your wellbeing, or perhaps the trouble they’d be in if whatever poision was in the goblet managed to kill you. Your body shuddered slightly at the thought, but never the less accepted the cup from Blaise’s outstretched hands. The cold metal burned your skin with an icy kiss as you tried _really, really_ hard not to look at the offensive concuction inside. 

“So I just have to drink this, pass out, and wake up with a tattoo? This seems awful like a cult” you stalled, waiting for someone to break and tell you it was all a joke and that you could _leave already_ and deal with the horrors of Snape’s classroom in peace. 

“Having second thoughts, Salazar’s heir?” Pansy taunted, while Xanthe and Astoria watched on imploringly as everyone held their breath. 

“Fuck you, Pansy” you bit back , eyeballing her for good measure before swiftly lifting the goblet to your lips and chugging the disgusting potion. 

——————————

When you woke up, you really didn’t want to move. Like _ever._ It felt like you’d been hit by the Howart’s Express, and then dragged behind it all the way back to London. 

Groaning and struggling to push yourself upright, you were surprised to be in the same secluded spot of the common room, albeit with fewer people - you guess once you woke up, the show was over for them. Only Astoria, Xanthe, Theodore, Blaise and Draco had remained, and were watching you curiously. 

“How do you feel?” Xanthe breathed, looking at you with wider eyes than usual.

“Um, fine I think? Did you let Pansy hit me though? My entire body hurts” you complained, rubbing your eyes groggily and subtly checking you hadn’t drooled. 

“My mouth tastes like _bleach_.”

“What is bleach? … Is it a muggle drink?” Blaise curiously enquired to your disbelief; but of course, you’d forgotten Muggle Studies wasn’t in the compulsory curriculum at Hogwarts. Honestly, your brain hurt. 

“No, it’s - It's definitely not a dri- just **don’t** drink bleach Zabini, or let anyone else. _Or_ inhale tidepods” you added, watching his eyebrows knit further. It was annoying that he still looked handsome with such blatant confusion written across his features, but _c’est la vie_.

“Is it true your a qualified St Mungo’s healer?” Theodore asked rather abruptly, disrupting the mental spiral you were in at the thought of having to hide bleach from Zabini for the rest of your wizarding life -the fool had looked to interested in the possibility of a secret muggle drink, _damn him_. 

“Erm - I’m not actually old enough act on my qualification, but yes I -“

“And you have a Chinese Fireball Dragon as a patronus?”

“That’s true, but -“

“And Dumbledore has been personally tutoring you, since you were what, seven?”

All his questions were making your head pound, so you gave a small nod before flopping back down onto the sofa. Luckily, Xanthe came to your defense before the enslaught could continue. 

“Honestly Theo, she looks like she’s going to pass out! You did so well Y/N, but did you really have to drink all the contents of that goblet? It’s vile stuff, and most people only ever take a sip” she told you nervously, still looking like she expected your hair to turn pink or something equally bizarre to occur.

“Did it work? Am I in or not?”

The girls exchanged a nervous glance. 

“Well where's your tattoo?” Draco questioned, letting his eyes wander up and down your body in a way that made your cheeks burn. 

“Where is it _meant_ to show up?” you breathed, suddenly glad it hadn’t appeared in the middle of your forehead. Your grandmother would not have approved. 

Astoria sidled up to you and wove her arm into yours before heaving you up and looking down at the boys with a smirk on her face. 

“With that in mind, _we_ are going to go look for it, while _you three_ spread the news that we **officially** have a new member of the Elites. Goodnight boys. Theo” she bid with a playful wink _(honestly, she made flirting look so easy)_ , before gliding off with both you and Xanthe in tow. 

Still recovering from the melted state of your brain after Draco’s stare, you paid no heed to parcel-tounging your way into your room and collapsing onto the nearest chair. 

“This is your room? Or should I say rooms?! _Holy Hippogriffs_ ” Xanthe squealed, darting in from behind you with way too much energy for your liking and proceeding to start her own dorm tour, dissapearing off into the corridor. 

“Well Y/N, we do actually _do_ need to find your tattoo, so that myself and Xan can be recorded as the witnesses. It’s less crude then having to get naked infront of the whole group to spot it, which is what _used_ to happen” Astoria told you, pulling you up off your chair. 

“They don’t half take this Elitist stuff _seriously_ ” you complained, as you removed your robe and began struggling out of your jumper. 

“It called the Elites for a reason, Y/N” Astoria sang, perched on the end of your desk as she looked critically for any hint of a mark on your skin. 

“It is the _ **it**_ crowd so to speak, meant to be the _creme de la creme_ of wizarding society- for Slytherins. We’ve had imposters try to associate with the group before, the tattoo’s _are_ a necessity. Though usually not for legacies, Pansy was just being a prat.”

When you got down to your shirt & skirt, you suddenly realised how shy you were feeling; you didn’t think you were a prude, but just how much clothing were you going to have to remove? No one had ever seen you in a state of undress past a swimming costume, and that was soely Aelin. 

Just as you finished hesitantly removing you shirt, Xanthe popped back into the room. 

“ _Y/N, this. Dorm. Is. Incredible!_ Did you know there’s a _hot tub_? And like, a _walk-in_ wardrobe, study, kitchen? All the sofa’s are dragonskin...” she beamed, looking thoroughly delighted with her findings. Astoria on the otherhand was still studying your skin with intense concentration, before breaking into a broad grin.

“I see it! I was expecting green, but look - it's gold!”

The two girls _oooh_ and _aah_ at the pretty gold lines that danced across the skin curving around the underside of your left bra cup.

“Your’s is so _sexy_!” Xanthe whined, “Mine's a weird orange swiggle near the top of my armpit, like who even gets an _orange_ tattoo!?” 

“Have you guys seen everyone else's?” You asked curiously, trying not to let your mind churn over the possibilites of where a certain Malfoy would have the serpent carved not his skin, what colour it would be.

“We don’t exactly show them off, _per se_ \- it would be easier for non-members to attempt to join the group, if they knew the design. I tend to glamour mine and I’ve only ever seen Xanthe’s, but only because she wouldn’t shut up about it” Astoria confided, waving her wand over her forearm and pullin her sleeve up to show you a dainty pattern off the Slytherin Signil across her flawless skin, the exact same colour of her eyes. 

“Enough about those awful things” Xanthe declared, evidently wanting to move on from the sore topic of tattoos, “You’re totally a member now, Y/N, congratulations! It’s not at all like a cult, I _promise_ \- now we can get up to all sorts of fun together!”

‘Starting with a party I think” Astoria grinned, looking at you with mischievous glint in her eyes.

“We could totally shove in Pansy’s face how divine your dorm is, and make her accept the fact you’re Salazar’s heir, if you hosted one here. It would totally cement your status.”

“I -um- a party here?” you repeated slowly, your mind still not fully recovered from the disgusting drink in the goblet.

“Is that _allowed_? Don’t you need beverages, and alcohol? I don’t have alcohol” you nervously added, worrying your lower lip with your teeth in thought.

Xanthe giggled and tossed your shirt at you.

“Honestly, you’re adorable. Leave the organising part to me and Astoria Y/N, and no one will get in any trouble - Theo’s a mastermind at planning this sort of stuff"

“And you’ll get the oppertunity to spend more time with a certain _Draco Malfoy_ ” Astoria sang teasingly, watching as you flushed a tomato shade of red and suddenly seemed extremely interested in the sofa. 

“Galloping _Gargoyles_ , we totally forgot to ask you how things went earlier with Draco and Snape! Did you do the arm-touching thing I told you about, Y/N?” Xanthe asked excitedly, taking a seat next to you on the sofa, with Astoria swooping in on the other side.

 **Oh Merlin** , you had _completely_ forgotten about earlier. Draco and the almost _will-he-kiss-me? moment._ Hermione Granger in Snape’s office doing truly unspeakable acts. Did the wizarding community do counselling? Because you seriously needed to erase **_that_** mental image.

“Ok” you began, shifting nervously in your seat and wringing your hands, “You guys need to swear to never tell anyone about this, but…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorryyyyyy for taking so long to update, covid-19 really messed up my writing schedule & exams :( 
> 
> Because of it I'll have more time to dedicate to this fic though, so stay tuned my lovelies !!!
> 
> Kudos & thought's always appreciated :)
> 
> Much more Draco in the next chapter xox


	8. Cornelius Fudge has entered the Chat

As a member of the Elites, you found your student life changed even more than before, if that was possible. Suddenly instead of just two friends you knew multiple friendly faces you could now greet by name _(hooray),_ students seemed to whisper even more about you in the corridors _(though less about the serpent fiasco)_ , and you had more invites than you could count to dorm parties in the upcoming term. After a weekend of homework, wizard chess tournaments against Zabini, Astoria and Xanthe and practicing dueling against Theo _(who was surprisingly good)_ , you found yourself at the end of Monday's school day exhausted, but thrilled as you sent Pansy’s wand soaring out her hand in your final duel to be crowned Slytherin’s captain. 

You could barely hear her shriek of anger over the roar of the crowd applauding, but you savoured the sound all the same, grinning at Xanthe and Astoria as they ran over. 

“MERLIN”S BEARD Y/N, that was brilliant!” Xanthe yelled over the applause, as the three of you moved off the raised platform for the Griffindor duels to begin. 

“Pansy looked like she was going to snap her wand in half; she _has_ to be regretting becoming enemies with you last week- the new Slytherin duelling captain !” Astoria added with a cackle, reminding you exactly _why_ she was in Slytherin as most the time she was nicer than the many Hufflepuff students you’d met.

“I admit, it’s well deserved” Zabini smoothly interjected, appearing from nowhere offering you a warm smile and handshake as you blushed at the enslaught of compliments. 

“I look forward to running the team along side you as co-captain … and you teaching me how to cast non-verbal spells, I’d say you rival Flitwick’s spell casting from your performance today.” 

“Uh- well, I’m glad you beat Pansy with that _stupefy_ at the end of your duel- Slytherin’s going to be _unstoppable_ this year” you happily replied, watching as the next duel began. 

“Is that Ginny Weasley?” Astoria asked incredulously, as a familiar red head took the the stage to face off the Boy-Who-Lived himself. A group of 1st year girls screamed in excitement at the sight of him, making Xanthe roll her eyes.

“I didn’t know she could duel.”

Apparently she could, rather well, as she ended up beating 6th year Dean Thomas and earning the title co-captain, alongside Harry Potter himself, much to the delight of the crowd. With all the duels finished _(Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had gone before you, with rather medicore performances)_ , Professor McGonagall took to the stage and commanded everyones attention. 

“Congratulations, to all the newly victorious captain’s and co-captains of duelling - I am sure you will _all_ represent your houses well. You will need to attend the upcoming captain's meeting taking place Wednesday evening before tryouts for members can begin, the information as of _when_ and _where_ will be released shortly to you. Thank you” she finished, before striding off purposfully into the dispersing crowd and off into the corridor. 

“You guys will all be trying out right, and Theo? I’m sure you’d make it onto the team” you asked your friends anxiously, suddently a bit nervous at the prospect of leadership. Sure, you knew the magic, but you’d never been the captain of anything. Up until now, you’d basically done whatever Dumbledore asked of you. 

“Darling, I’ll definitley be there - I made the squad last year, and Theo was the star of the team last year. It’s going to be a blast” Astoria assured you, immediatley making you feel better at the prospect of training alongside your new group of friends.

“I've got Quidditch to focus on this year” Xanthe said with a sheepish smile “I’m trying out for keeper, and my parents don’t want me to take on too much outside my studies.”

“They wouldn’t want you on the Slytherin duelling team?”

“No” Xanthe shared glumly, twisting her mouth in a frown and looking at the floor. 

“My family takes a more -ah- _traditional_ approach to extra curricular activities. It’s uncommon for pureblood witches to duel - it’s not usually seen as a-an _attractive_ trait when the courting season begins. I’m lucky I even get to do Quidditch” she added with a shrug, as Astoria gave a sympathetic nod. 

“The courting season? Is this another pureblood thing? It sounds sexist as hell... witches not being allowed to duel, that’s crazy!” you exclaimed, slightly _too_ loud when students filing out the chamber around you shot inquisitive looks.

“Has your grandmother not explained this to you?” Astoria asked with a bewildered look on her face. A pit of uncertainty was opening up in your chest, as you considered her words. 

“I-I don’t understand-“

“Well done” a unfamiliar male voice called out to your side, as you turned and came face-to-face with the rather handsome dark haired, green eyed Griffindor captain. You heard Xanthe quietly gasp as Astoria dragged her off to stand further away from you, mouthing that they’d meet you later. Your face quickly heated as you realised Harry Potter was talking to you, in a room people were quickly filing out of, leaving you both relatively alone. 

“It’s Y/N, right?” He asked with a disarming smile, making your heart beat erratically as he shook your hand in greeting. He had big hands. 

“Yeah, nice to meet you Potter” you offered with _-what you hoped was-_ a friendly smile. Your brain was protesting from the overload and simultanious _lack of_ information in your prevoius conversation, but you desperately tried to focus on what was currently happening to you. You were sure millions of witches would have killed to be in your position right now. Talking to Harry Potter. _Alone_. **Holy _Hippogriffs_**.

“You were bloody brillant in that duel against Zabini - I can’t wait to face you in the upcoming Slytherin vs. Griffendor match” he grinned.

“You totally deserve to be Gryffindor’s captain, Harry” you replied rather breathlessly, aware your face was now red from _not only_ the lack of people around you but _also_ the compliment you didn’t know how to respond to.

“You’ve seriuosly nailed that _Expelliarmus_ spell, I doubt even Dumbledore could have blocked that shot you got in against Ginny”.

He chuckled at that, making your insides feel all warm as he ran a hand through his hair distractedly. 

“Don’t let the headmaster hear you say that” he warned with another smile, “as a _prefect_ , I might have to take house points for suggesting such things”

“And I was told _Slytherin_ was the corrupt house” you pouted, making him smirk once more. 

“Ah yes, that's certainly true with Malfoy as one of your prefects... I’m surprised he wasn’t selected for the trials” he mused. 

“Oh he was, he just declined I- Oh **shoot**! I’m meant to be in a meeting with him now!” you realised halfway through your sentence, as Harry shot you a curious look. 

“It’s because of the whole sorting-hat-fire-and-prophesy-thing” you tried to explain, waving a hand airily over your shoulder as you fast-walked out the duelling chamber. 

“It was great meeting you- see you Wednesday, _A Bientot_ ” you called over you shoulder as you marched out the room, leaving Potter rather confused but still intrigued behind you.

You _were_ **_totally_ **getting better at the whole interacting with boys thing.

———————————————— 

“You’re late.”

Draco didn’t even look up from the scroll he was reading as you hurried into the empty classroom Snape had assigned for the two of you to meet in. You bit your lip to stop yourself biting back; you were only _5 minutes_ late, and you still didn’t know the layout of the castle very well. It didn’t help that Peeves had chased you down **two** flights of stairs with a water ballon on your way over. Where he even got such things from was beyond you.

Either way, you supposed Draco _was_ giving up his time to help you… even if it was because Snape had forced him to. Even though neither of you had really spoken since you’d _thought_ he was going to kiss you, and become a member of the Elites. It almost felt like you were living in one of the muggle reality TV series your grandmother Aelin secretly loved watching. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry” you replied as evenly as possible, dumping your bag uncerimoniously at the foot of the desk he sat behind and sweeping your hair behind your shoulders, suddenly self-concious as he finally looked up from his reading and acknowledged your presence. Looking into his icy blue eyes made your body feel tingly _(whyy did he have to be so flipping attractive?!),_ so instead you settled for studying the text he’d been engrossed in. 

“Interesting read?”

He shot you a look that immediatley told you _no, it was certainly not a good read,_ before sighing and reclining in his chair. You tried really, _really_ hard not to watch the dim light of the classroom flicker over his chiseled jaw as he moved. He was so gorgeous you genuinley wondered for a moment if his looks had been magically enhanced or _something_.

“It’s a record of prophecies given to the school by the Department of Mysteries - I’ve been trying to find any links to previous divine visions that could have eluded to your rather spectacular sorting experience.”

“Oh” you breathed, chewing your bottom lip more. 

“Isn’t it unfair you’re the one doing this? With your NEWTs and prefect duties and all? I thought if anyone would be looking into this, it would be a ministry representative, or a professor perhaps?”

“There’s currently a team from the Department of Mysteries investigating any potential danger as we speak; it would be rather damaging for Ministry of Magic’s reputation if _such_ a _famous_ witch died in Hogwarts, under their protection.”

“But why didn’t I _know_ anything about that? I spoke with Snape like, three days ago?”

“Who knows... perhaps Cornelius Fudge is planning on informing you personally”

“Ha-ha, very funny _Malfoy_ ” you dead-panned, scowling at the ever present smirk on his face. 

Knowing your grandmother, she would have insisted on _exactly_ that if she already knew about what had happened. Merlin, you really needed to owl Aelin about it ASAP; you hardly wanted her showing up on campus and trying to whisk you off back to the manner, or worse, convincing Dumbledore you needed bodyguards. 

“Anyway, the first two lines of the prophecy seem to have come true ' ** _When Salazar’s bloodline once more return, a_** _new age of magic within her will burn’,_ suggesting there is some truth in what was said in the Great Hall."

“Um, new age of magic? I’m not sure that’s completely true.”

Draco raised a single eyebrow at you. 

“Surely you understand the fact most witches and wizards your age can’t do half the magic you can.”

“Most witches and wizards aren’t _home-schooled_ all their life, by Dumbledore!”

“Because even at a young age he could see your power. Everyone watching the duelling could see it, you know.”

“I didn’t see you there earlier” you said confused, before mentally kicking yourself for sounding like you’d been actively looking for him. Luckily, he didn’t seem to pick up on it.

"I left after the Slytherin matches were finished; I had patrol duties with Pansy.”

“Cool cool cool cool cool” you muttered, trying not to envy Pansy parading around the castle, _alone_ with Draco. You were totally _not_ the jelous type, but the thought of her hideous self-satisfied smirk made your blood boil.

An awkward moment followed, in which Draco clearly judged you for repeating ‘cool’ so many times _(oops, he’d probably never seen Brooklyn-99…)_ while you cleared your throat and tried to steer the conversation back on topic. 

“It’s a muggle cop thing- uh, would it be helpful to mention that my chambers has this like, weird corridor leading off it? I haven’t had the chance to explore it yet, but it looks hella creepy. There are green flames” you added lamely at the end. 

“Have you told Snape about it yet?”

“I was _going_ to… but you know, Snape.”

Malfoy looked at you like you’d just told him the sky was purple, making you bit your lip once more and look towards the classroom clock. At the rate this meeting was going, you’d have to visit the owlery and Balthazar tomorrow morning. Hopefully Aelin wouldn’t have shown up before then. The longer the silence dragged on, the more flustered you felt _(was he still looking at you? where you meant to talk now?)_ and you felt like the air was thickening between you. Or, it was so cold in the dungeon classroom, you were loosing feeling in your body. _Yes, that was probably it._

“We need to explore that corridor. It could be a lead” Draco eventually decided, rolling up the scroll and dumping it in his bag.

“Great! I’m having a party on Friday in my dorm, we could go explore it then?”

“That works” he agreed after a moment, standing up and towering over you. You couldn’t help but feel like he was off, something was different- he seemed distracted, compared to the previous short conversations you’d had with him. Hell, he hadn’t even brought up his Sorting-Hat-on-fire suspicions. 

“Are you…are you ok, Draco?” you asked hesitantly, watching him consider your question. He looked conflicted, as he ran a hand through his white blond hair and his eyes darted to your face. Just as he opened his mouth to reply, however, a knock sounded at the door as Snape appeared. Even though you hadn’t been stood close to him, you suddenly felt as gulity as the last time Snape had seen you with Draco outside his classroom, and took a sub-concious step back as you smoothed down your robes. 

“Miss Avada-Salazar” Snape greeted slowly, with his cold monotonous tone. The sound reminded you of the slide of snake scales over a smooth surface, and you repressed a shudder. The indecent image of what he’d done infront of you with Hermione Granger didn’t help. 

“You have been summoned to the Headmaster’s Office…the Minister of Magic is here to speak with you.”

Your heart stuttered nervously in your chest as you nervously nodded, grabbed your bag and darted forward to follow Snape to Dumbledore’s office. The thought of the number of stairs you would have to climb made you sigh with dismay, but the sight of Draco’s smirk at correctly predicting your future was what made you scowl as you began your ascent. 

————————————————

“…and then he jabbered on about how _‘perfectly safe’_ I was, basically told me all the stuff Draco had told me in our meeting about the Department of Mysteries devoting a team to look into the prophecy, and went on for ten minutes _straight_ about the importance and use of having Dementors around, to protect myself and other _‘at risk’_ students.” 

You finished recounting your evening to Xanthe and Astoria with a sigh, sprawled on your bed in pyjamas as the three of you shared a box of chocolate coated strawberries. You had no idea where Astoria had got them from, but they were so divine you didn’t care.

“Y/N, do you not get how big a deal it is that Cornelius Fudge, _Minister of Magic_ , came all the way here to assure you everything was being done to keep you safe? I’ll be surprised if it’s not on the cover of _Wizard Weekly_ tomorrow” Xanthe breathed, way more impressed with the encounter than you were. 

“Honestly, he was super pompous, I don’t undertand how _he’s_ the Minister of Magic. And I think he was also there to see Potter - I passed him in the corridor when I left Dumbledore’s office.”

“Ah yes- Gryffindor’s golden boy. How did your run in with him go earlier, darling?” Astoria teased, watching you blush and grab another strawberry. 

“You didn’t think we’d forget, did you?”

“I’m still team Malfoy” Xanthe proclaimed, giggling as you buried your head in your hands. 

“Harry was... very nice” you carefully shared, voice muffled with your face still hidden. Sure, he’d been perfectly nice and charming and all but he didn’t have the same effect Draco did on you. Not that either of the girls needed to know.

“We just talked about the duels, and then I remembered that I was late for my meeting with Draco, so I basically ran out of there.”

“Well… at least it went better than your first meeting with Draco?” Xanthe offered with a smirk, poking you with a strawberry. 

“ _And_ you’ll be seeing him all the time with the duelling practice. The press would have a field day- a star-crossed interhouse _romance,_ between the most famous witch and wizard of our generation”Astoria airily declared.

“ _Stop_ ” you moaned, “He was just being polite, Astoria.”

“We’ll see.”

“But how did your meeting with Draco go?” Xanthe questioned. 

“It was fine” you said with a shrug, rolling your eyes when the two girls sat clearly waiting for more information. 

“We’re meeting again during the party, there’s a unexplored corridor we need to visit that might help with working out what the prophecy. Snape dosen’t know yet though, so don’t tell anyone.”

Xanthe fell off the bed. 

“Merlin’s pants, isn’t that dangerous? And how are you going to sneak out of your own party, Y/N?”

“If you both suddenly up and leave, everyon _e_ is going to think you guys are hooking up” Astoria added with deadly seriousness, before erupting into fits of giggles with Xanthe at the look of horror on your face. 

“Are you serious? I only suggested it so that he’d have an excuse to come up to the girl’s wing... Should I uninvite him, reschedule?”

“No!” Xanthe exclaimed, sitting up off the floor and grabbing your ankle as if to restrain you from doing so.

“Obviously we can help- stage a distraction or something, while the two of you sneak off.”

“Are you sure thats _completely_ necessary?” You wondered, beginning to think that telling Astoria and Xanthe your plan many not have been the smartest idea. 

“You worry too much, Y/N” Astoria smiled.

“We’ll just announce the hot tub is open, or start a game of strip poker.”

“Wha-I don’t- _Strip Poker_?!” you stuttered, making the two girls giggle again.

“You’re adorable - I was joking, of _course_ we won’t start a game of Strip Poker on the night. It should only be played in smaller groups anyway .”

“You guys have played it before? I thought purebloods had to be more…you know…?” You trailed off, unsure how to express how uptight you had been led to believe the exclusive group were. Their group was called the _Elites_ for Merlin’s sake.

“Only with other members of the group. We might as well have our fun now, before Courting Season begins.”

“My Aunt Grizelda’s already been posting me profiles of _‘elegible’_ pureblood bachalors by owl. One was a bald thirty-three year old Prince in _Albania_ ” Xanthe groaned, reaching for another strawberry. 

“Uh… Courting Season?” You repeated, remembering how your friends had mentioned it earlier in the day after the Slytherin duels. 

Xanthe shared a worried glance with Astoria, finally pushing herself up off the carpet to perch on the end of your king-sized bed. 

“Has your grandmother truely never explained it to you?” She asked uneasily, seeing the clear confusion written plainly in your expression. 

“It’s a pureblood tradition all the wizarding families hailing from the origional families take part in.” Astoria began quietly, gazing at the fire crackling at the foot of the bed in the elegant fire place. All traces of teasing and humor erased like ripples in a lake.

“It’s was designed to keep the wizarding bloodlines pure, though some at the Minestry of Magic are pushing to have the whole thing reformed. When a girl of a pureblood family comes of age they have to take part in the Courting Season, attending 13 balls over the months October through to December. The balls are arranged as an oppertunity to mingle with potential suitors from eligable bloodlines across the globe, and a suitable match has to be approved by both the families of a pair before a pureblood girl has completed 5 courting seasons.”

Astoria recalled the information flawlessly, speaking with no passion or emotion for the first time you had ever witnessed. It was almost as if it had been drilled into her so many times the words had all lost their meaning. 

“Aelin never- she never mentioned this to me” you confessed slowly, struggling to reason why your grandmother, or even Dumbledore would have with held such information from you. 

“Does every pureblood family have to take part? What happens if a match isn’t made?”

“They risk being ex-communicated from the pureblood society if they do not, everyone is bound by ancient magic” Xanthe explained solemly.

“If a pureblood match if found and approved between families within the time period, it brings honor to both. If a pureblood matches with a half-blood it is frowned upon, but if both familes consent to the pair there are no repercissions. But if a girl of a pureblood fails to find a partner after 5 seasons, or any pureblood chooses a muggle-born…”

“…the individual is ex-communicated” Astoria finished with a frown.

“That’s insane” you breathed, waiting for either of your friends to tell you they were joking, to start giggling again and begin explaining what, _exactly_ , Strip-poker was. Instead they remained rather pale and eyes downcast. 

“Well… I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. Maybe- maybe Aelin wanted me to start school first? Or found a way for me to not participate without the whole ex-communication business?”

Xanthe perked up slightly at that. 

“Well, if two families already have a betrothal plan in place you don’t have to go through with _any_ of the Courting Seasons because you’ll be dating someone elligable already.”

“But that’s totally worse Anth! It’s basically an arranged engagement!” Astoria argued back, clearly in favour of the Courting Season attendance.

“Look Y/N, none of us like it but we all come of age this year and until wizarding society is reformed, we don’t have much choice other than to participate.”

“It could be worse, one of us could look like Pansy” Xanthe added as a smile ghosted her face.

“The Balls aren’t even that bad apparently; the food’s really good, and some suitors buy you really expensive gifts. You’ll be flooded with stuff Y/N, being an Avada-Salazar and all.”

“It’s just-“ you began, struggling to grasp the new information and speak coherently simultaneously. 

“Coming to Hogwarts, the Prophesy, joining the Elites and now finding out about this- this _Courting Season-_ it’s too much.” 

“Atleast you’ve practically already learnt the syllabus, it’s a head-start on me and Astoria over here” Xanthe yawned, stretching and reaching for her school bag to head back to her dorm.

“We’re all in this together Y/N. Focus on your party and the plan with Draco for now- compartmentalisation is key” Astoria declared, before the three of you hugged goodbyes and the two girl left your rooms. 

Clearly, a talk with your grandmother Aelin was long overdue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Low-key feeling like I'm over complicating the plot, but please let me know what you guys think in the comments!
> 
> Sorry this chapter is so long aha, I should have another one up in the next couple of days :) 
> 
> Stay safeee xoxo


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